The Cycle of Ages Bible
by Cap'n Chryssalid
Summary: A reference guide to the universe established in the fanfiction 'Cycle of Ages.' Currently showcasing data on the major mobian religions of the postCOA world.
1. Faction Brief 1 The Kingdom of Acorn

  
In between other projects, I am steadily continuing my preparations for the 'Cycle of Ages' sequel. This includes a compilation of world data from the primary sources (Archie, SatAM, and SEGA), as well as the information revealed over the 29 chapters of COA. Needless to say, keeping factions, agendas, historical dates, and the like consistent is not an easy task. One of the ways that helped keep the original version of COA organized was to think of it almost as an RPG, and to maintain a Master File with the entire catalogue of relevant canon. This is that, as it currently stands (to be released over several postings).  
  
Additional essays on the COA, and perhaps other topics as well, will follow, in what I call the "Cycle of Ages Bible."  
  
As always, the "Cycle of Ages" fanfic is most easily read via my FFN account.  
  
Following the planned ten chapters of Faction Data, I will tackle other topics of interest. For anyone who has read and enjoyed COA, and the universe it took place in, suggestions for future discussion are welcomed.  
  
- The Cap'n  
  
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Faction Data Brief #1  
  
(Note that all dates are in MC – Mobian Calendar Standard – unless otherwise specified)  
  
** Name:**  
_ The Kingdom of Acorn_  
  
** Territory:**  
All the land from the Tranquil Sea in the East to the Charon Mts in the West: Great Plains, Great Forest, Small Planet, Inland Sea, Southeastern Peninsula, Southern Desert. Much of it is Disputed.   
  
** Cities:**  
Mobotropolis  
Knothole  
Andopolis  
Jubilee  
Iron Springs (Disputed)  
Gamorrin (Disputed)  
Casino Night (Disputed)  
Gatton (Disputed)  
  
** History: **  
Xerxes the Golden, of the House Vorn, founded the Kingdom of Acorn in 2425, a little over 800 years before the events of COA. Establishing alliances with two other powerful ruling houses (Acre and Di'Acre), and absorbing several small western neighbors into his demesne, Xerxes began a systematic campaign of conquest through the 'Low Lands' of the Great Plain that eventually brought an end to the Warring State Period (2270 – 2430 MC). Even before his conquests were secure, Xerxes proclaimed himself "Lord of All the Lands Under the Sky," named his new Kingdom: Acorn, and ordered the construction of a New Capital City: Mobotropolis.   
  
Despite the lackluster leadership of his son, Joab the White, his conquests were built upon by his grandson, Charon the Great, who led the Kingdom south into the Southeastern Peninsula, crushing the corrupt Pro-Dingo Tappenden Dynasty there, and then into further adventures in the West. Subduing the 'Wild Mobians' of the Southern Wastes, he then invaded what would eventually be called the lands of Mercia. Returning home, he plotted an invasion of the 'Untamed North,' and fought several skirmishes with the Northern Barbarian Tribes before dying in 2492. The Kingdom of Acorn would occupy this vast swath of Territory for the next five centuries, establishing trade with the Echidna, (2528) Dingo (2529), and overlanders (2824). In 2830 the Kingdom briefly invaded post-Floating Island Downunda, in an effort to stem piracy based on that land mass. After a disastrous war with the Northern Barbarians in 2846, in which the Northern Capital of Xerxenia was pillaged, rival claimants for the throne plunged the Kingdom into its First Civil War.   
  
The Kingdom of Acorn that emerged after the Civil War ended (under the leadership of King Marius Acorn II) was roughly half the size it had been previous. Placing internal stability before external conquests, Marius II signed treaties recognizing the legitimacy and independence of the Western Crown (which ruled the lands of Mercia), as well as formalizing the semi-autonomous nature of the Southern Desert regions and peoples. The Isolationist Period (2900 – 3100) contrasted sharply with the rising tensions on the Floating Island, on the other side of the world, as it began its approach to the hostile continent of Overland. Filling a power vacuum left since the creation of the Floating Island in 2814, a warlord named Merlion, calling himself the All Khan of Downunda, began his "Glorious War." The Merlion Wars (2940 – 2952) greatly weakened the Kingdom of Acorn, and cost them their rich provinces in the Southeastern Peninsula. Further skirmishes with the Northern Barbarian Tribes, the Khandom of Downunda, the Kingdom of Mercia, and various Overlander City-States further whittled away at the declining Kingdom.   
  
This changed with the ascension of Melchoir the Mighty to the throne in 3090, and the disappearance of the Echidna and Dingo in 3050. Reforming the country and military, Melchoir re-conquered the 'lost provinces' of the southeastern Peninsula, decisively defeating Bargatu Khan in 3106, and again in 3107. In 3110, he crushed the Southern Rebellion under Count Sarjek ("The Pious"), and re-annexed the Southern Desert regions. In 3111, he defeated a Mercian invasion led by Prince Patrick O'Den (also known as Patrick The Blue-Quilled). In 3112 he invaded Mercia itself, forced the Ruling family to subjugate itself before the Crown of Acorns, and renounced that country's independent and sovereign status, turning the Kingdom of Mercia into the Duchy of Mercia.   
  
In 3112 he began his campaign against the Overlander colonies on the main Mobian continent, decisively defeating the humans several times (3112, 3114 and 3115). In 3121, prompted by the willingness of several Northern Tribes to join the Kingdom, Melchoir announced the annexation of all Northern Lands, starting the Final Northern Border War (3121 –3133). Though the Great King was eventually forced to withdraw from the Far North, he still gained substantial territorial gains due to the defection of the Southern Barbarian Tribes. In 3130, an aging Melchoir Acorn signed the Treaty of Mobotropolis, establishing 'eternally and inviolably' the borders of the Overlander and Mobian peoples.   
  
Forty-four years later, under the rule of Frederic Acorn, that peace was shattered as disputes over trade and state-sponsored piracy led to an overlander invasion of Downunda (by this time, a protectorate of the Kingdom of Acorn). When the Duchy of Mercia revolted against Acorn rule, the Overlander Federation supported it, and the Second Overlander War began. Lasting from 3188 to 3193, the war dragged on as the Mobian navy was repeatedly defeated at sea, but the overlanders were unable to achieve any significant land-based gains. The war ended with the Peace of New Denver, on August 19, 3193. After the war, in 3197, and abandoned by its human allies, the new King of Acorns, Maximilian I, again subjugated the troublesome territory of Mercia. The ruling Duke was executed, and a distant cousin placed on the throne.   
  
In the post-war period, the Kingdom of Acorn launched several failed industrialization and privatization programs, modeled on the human-Overlander system. Despite the arrival of the human, Nate Morgan, the intransigence of the Noble Houses, rabid anti-overlander sentiment, religious opposition and the dissolution of the First Parliament led to King Maximilian abandoning the effort in 3210. Just ten years later, objecting to Overlander economic and military expansion into the Southwestern Continent beyond Mercia, and spurred on by anti-overlander fervor, the aforementioned King launched a devastating first strike against the overlander cities just beyond the Charon Mountains.   
  
The First Great War had begun. However, unlike before, the Mobians found themselves waging a style of warfare that had been rendered obsolete by overlander technological, industrial, and tactical advancement. Worse, the Black Hand Purges of 3202 and 3206 had decimated the officer corp. of the Mobian army; placing a great many incompetent nobles in command positions. Losing at sea after the battle of Tanati Atoll (3221), the Kingdom began to find itself losing on land, too, despite vast numerical advantages. Falling back, Maximilian launched several 'reform' programs designed to root out weakness in the Kingdom. These included the Purging of the Nobility (3218, 3221, & 3228), the Great Agricultural Overhaul (3225), and numerous Rapid Industrialization and Modernization Programs (3221 – 3226).   
  
Throughout the years of 3220 to 3224, the overlanders advanced, seizing territory in the Southwestern Continent, overrunning and dissolving Mercia, taking the port cities on the Great Southern Sea, invading Downunda, and finally moving into the breadbasket of the Kingdom: the Great Plains. The tides of war began to change after the arrival of a human refugee (and criminal) named Julian Kintobor, along with several other rogue humans, including Julian's nephew: Colin Jr. Desperate, King Maximilian offered the rogues refuge and immediately employed them as war advisors. After several minor successes, Maximilian gave Julian command of the Defense of West Island, resulting in the first major Mobian victory of the First Great War.   
  
In 3228, Julian Kintobor officially took on the title of (Sixth) Imperial Warlord or Warmaster, giving him the authority to direct the entire Mobian war effort. Taking advantage of overstretched human resources, Julian engaged them in a war of attrition, which (after the failed Overlander Southern Offensive) eventually prompted the 3229 cease-fire agreement. Though the overlanders retained many of their conquests, the Kingdom of Acorn was able to maintain its core provinces and population centers. The good news was short lived, however, as a military coup led by Julian Kintobor deposed the unpopular King Maximilian in October, 3230 (at the time, it was assumed that the King had been killed, but he was actually banished to the Void, along with the Court Hierophant: Ixus Nagus).   
  
While the former Warlord, now styling himself Robotnick (Kintobor was a reversal of Robotnick, not the other way around, and was adopted by that family after the ARK Incident of 3219), proceeded with his Roboticization Pogroms, Mobian refugees managed to flee to secret enclaves established by the Kingdom of Acorn during the Great War (under the auspices of the Ministry of Security's General D'Coolette). While Robotnick fought the Second Great War (3230-3233) against the weakened Overlander Federation, these Resistance groups organized and began to strike. They achieved little, however, until the emergence of the Freedom Fighters (led by the Crown Princess Sarah "Sally" Alicia Acorn) based in Knothole.   
  
After several years of struggle, internal dissention grew between Robotnick and his human co-conspirators. All were killed prior to 3232 save for Julian's nephew, who none-the-less continued to plot against his genocidal uncle. In 3234, he got his chance, and by sabotaging a weapon called the Ultimate Annihilator supposedly destroyed Robotnick. His success was short lived, however, and Colin Jr. ("Snively") was quickly defeated and incarcerated. King Maximilian was restored to the throne that same year, and his successor named: Elias Acorn. Troubles continued to plague the nascent Kingdom, and in 3236 Robotnick re-emerged, calling himself Eggman, as did a small population of surviving humans and overlanders. The situation came to a head at the Battle of Knothole, in November, 3237. There, a coalition of forces – Mobian, Dingo and Overlander – opposed the so-called "Perfect Defense Fortress Helios," a weapons platform of immense power, and destroyed it.   
  
After the battle, the Kingdom of Acorn again enters a period of growth and potential instability. There are still enemies and rivals on Mobius, and the Kingdom, despite its recent victory, is militarily exhausted. It has developed a rudimentary military alliance with the Dingo, but also seeks a normalization of relations with the Echidna of Angel Island. It also seeks peaceful relations with the Barbarian North. Territorially, it has disputed claims to lands occupied by the Terran Protectorate, and faces dissention to the south, southeast, and southwest. Additionally, while the population is quite high, the Mobian economy is in tatters, though much of the infrastructure was actually greatly improved under the rule of the two Dr. Robotnicks. Finally, there are potential problems related to the traditionally patriarchal succession of the crown that must be overcome.   
  
** Advantages and Disadvantages:**  
The Kingdom's two greatest strengths are population and industry. Ironically, despite the failure of Royal policies to promote industrialization and modernization, the post-war Kingdom simply inherited them largely intact from Robotnick. This provides an immediate and efficient manufacturing base to facilitate rebuilding and economic restructuring. Technology and education levels, however, are not high, and illiteracy is a problem (the Kingdom has only a 84% literacy rate). There are substantial societal and political hurtles to overcome before the Kingdom can truly maximize its potential.   
  
** Other Notes:**  
  
** Characters: **( " original character, ' character derivative)  
_ Royal Family:_  
King Maximilian Acorn  
Queen Alicia Acorn  
Prince Elias Acorn  
Princess Sarah (Sally) Alicia Acorn  
  
_ (Civilian) Freedom Fighters:_  
Sonic Hedgehog  
Rush Hedgehog "  
Antoine D'Coolette  
Bunnie Rabbot  
Amanda (Cream) '  
Rotor  
Amy Rose  
Mina Mongoose  
  
_ Assorted Mobian Armed Forces:_  
Geoffrey St. John  
Hershey Cat  
Karie Silver Moon "  
  
_ Other:_  
Rouge  
Nail  
Drago  
Nicolette (Nic)  
Nackworth (Nack)  
Fiona Fox  
Lucas Masters "  
Damascus Tress "  
  
** Details on Characters:**  
  
** Military:**  
The defense of the Kingdom is assigned to several departments. The first, and most famous, are the "Freedom Fighters." They are a group of elite fighters organized into small cells of five to twelve individuals. Freedom Fighters did most of the work during the insurrection years of 3234 to 3236, before the military reorganization of 3236 to 3237 attempted to better integrate them into the traditional Royal Army command structure. This was only partly successful, and the Freedom Fighters remain a semi-independent entity, under the command of the Royal Family, but independent of the conventional Royal Armed Forces. Despite briefly losing command during the Battle of Knothole, the current head of the Freedom Fighters is Princess Sarah "Sally" Acorn.  
  
The Mobian Secret Service is another semi-independent paramilitary entity. It is tasked with the defense of the Royal Family. The Service was previously an organization within the Royal Guard, which was under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Security (instead of the Ministry of War and Defense), but after the Fall of Mobotropolis, and the 3230 coup, the largely ceremonial Royal Guard was disbanded in favor of the more practical and effective Secret Service. The SS operational commander is one (Sir) Geoffrey St. John.  
  
The conventional Mobian Armed Forces are the reformed remnants of the same military that fought in the First Great War. Organized under the Ministry of War and Defense, the MAF was temporarily disbanded after the coup, but reorganized after the 'death' of Robotnick in 3234. Learning from their mistakes in the Great War, the MAF is a more mobile organization than its previous incarnation: better armed, trained, and especially led. The old system of appointing nobles as officers, regardless of skill or competence, was abandoned, and the surviving officers are more knowledgeable than those just ten years earlier. The heart of the MAF is the (militia or regular) platoon: 1 Commissioned Officer, 6 Non-Commissioned Officers, and 36 soldiers. MAF units served with distinction in several battles at the end of the Robotnick War. The position of Minister of War (or Warlord) is currently vacant.   
  
The third semi-independent paramilitary entity working for the Kingdom of Acorn is an unofficial branch of the Mobian Armed Forces – the Miles Militum Air Corp. The brainchild of Miles' Tails' Prower prior to his disappearance (or death) in the Battle of Knothole, the Air Corp was designed to be a counterpoint to the normal Freedom Fighters. The only leader it answered to was Miles, who paid for, outfitted, designed, and saw to the construction of all the Corp's weapons and training. The Corp suffered heavy losses in the Battle of Nor'easter against the Combot Legion, and again in the Battle of Knothole, and was essential to the Allied victory in both engagements. The greatest loss, however, was that of their benefactor and leader. Just what the surviving Air Corp will do now is unknown. 


	2. Faction Brief 2 Echidnapolis

** Name:**  
_Greater Echidnapolis_  
  
**Territory: **  
Virtually the entirety of Angel Island.  
  
**Cities:**  
Echidnapolis  
  
**History: **  
The echidna people originated from the Southwestern Continent in what is now Cat Country. It was likely because of the large and hostile Feline population that the majority of echidna migrated further south, and then west, eventually finding refuge in the island-continent of Downunda, several thousand years ago (only a small population remained, forming the hidden city of Albion). Ancient Mogulian Manuscripts record the existence of primitive echidna living there and practicing advanced agriculture and land cultivation as far back as 230 BMC (Before Mobian Calendar). Sometime around 500 MC, early proto-Dingo canines migrated from the Southeastern Peninsula to Downunda. The conflict between these two groups for limited resources would come to define virtually all echidna history from that moment into the present.   
  
As the two breeds ran into each other, they discovered that they were fundamentally different creatures. The echidna has eschewed contact with mainland mobians for several centuries, but the dingo had records of contact with other mobians. In Downunda, between the dingo and echidna, and unlike contact in other area of the world, there could be no intermingling or interbreeding between the two groups. Alienated from each other, each gradually developed an adversarial relationship with the other. For millennia, they skirmished and battled with each other, and occasionally with invaders from overseas.  
  
Both societies advanced rapidly in organization and technology. Over time, the dingo gradually developed a strict martial philosophy, and organized themselves around a rigid military hierarchy. The echidna went the opposite route, and created a collectivist-communal society of relative equals. Peace between the two routinely only lasted until one perceived an advantage over the other. One of the more noteworthy of the Dingo-Echidna spawned conflicts was the co called "Carnivore War" or the "Two Hundred Years War" (2100 – 2300). Reaching a stalemate in Downunda, the Dingo, under the leadership of General Hernando von Danz, organized a Confederation of Allies over a period of ten years. These included 'Second Races' from across the globe, including Felines from the Far West in Cat Country, Canines from the main continent, several Barbarian Tribes from the North, and other smaller groups.  
  
In response, the echidnas openly allied themselves with the waning Third Mogulian Republic (1400-2270), which still dominated the main Mobian continent. Open warfare broke out between the two coalitions sometime in 2100 MC, when the Felines invaded western Mogulia. The dingo hoped that the combined power of their allies would annihilate the Mogulian Republic in a quick campaign, at which point they could concentrate on their primary enemy: the echidna. On the flipside, the echidna wished for the Mogulians to beat back their neighbors, as they had traditionally done, and then aid them in the fight against the dingo. The war, however, dragged on for decades. A series of on-again, off-again attempted ceasefires and peaces failed to put a stop to the fighting, as one group would inevitably continue their attacks and drag the rest of their honor-bound allies back into the war.   
  
Sometime around 2200 the Felines quit the war, broke their alliance with the other Second Races, and retreated to Cat Country (an insult many Kitsune and Dingo have never forgiven, to this day). Eventually, the Mogulian Republic collapsed into anarchy, after repeated canine and vulpine attacks broke through its borders. Both remaining major factions were eventually able to honor their treaty with the dingo, and sent forces to Downunda to fight the echidna. It took almost a decade, but on May 21, 2299, the dingo alliance was eventually able to breach the "impenetrable" walls of Echidnapolis, and sacked the city in a month long orgy of violence and bloodshed. The remains of the city survive to this day as the ruins of Marble Garden. Echidna society, however, survived the catastrophe and renamed a more eastward city as the new Echidnapolis (the Echidnapolis of present day). In the aftermath of the war, with both sides bled nearly dry, Dingo City in shambles (The echidna unleashed the Guardian creature "Chaos" in 2297, in an attempt to force a dingo withdrawal), and a famine depleting Dingo ranks, a final armistice was signed, ceding the richest provinces of Downunda to the Dingo Hegemony and extracting yearly tributes in gold and slaves from the surviving echidna.  
  
This state of affairs remained in place for almost three hundred years, when a series of plagues struck Downunda. The Dry Death was believed to have been carried to Downunda from a trading ship crossing the Tranquil Sea. The Dingo blamed the Felines of Cat Country, and launched an invasion to punish them for it, "and other unforgivable offenses." The disease, and the losses incurred in the Cat country Campaign, weakened the Hegemony's grip on Downunda, and by the twenty sixth century the echidna society experienced a renaissance, and freed themselves from Dingo suzerainty. In just a hundred years, the echidna had reversed their fortunes, and became the dominant force in Downunda, just in time to prevent their destruction at the hands of a rogue comet.   
  
The creation of the Floating Island by the echidna scientists Kayla-La and Jor-dann (in 2814) further solidified the dominance of the echidna over the surviving dingo. The First Dingo City, along with the majority of dingo holdings, were wiped out by the catastrophe that struck Downunda, and the dingo would be held as a quasi-client state for the next half century. The Kitsune Invasions that began around 2850 (and reached their peak in 2905), when the orbit of the Floating Island crossed into their territory, served to allow the dingo greater autonomy in defense of the island. The dingo, however, were a rapidly growing population on the Island, and eventually reformed the Hegemony under Director-General Ulrich von Graff. The echidna, undermined by the Dimitri-Edmund ideological split that would result in the Dark Legion, offered no direct opposition to the shift in power.   
  
The situation came to a head in 3050, when an Overlander-Dingo Alliance threatened Echidnapolis. Though the Guardian Steppenwolf had foiled a previous human incursion almost a century earlier (and the Guardian Aaron prevented an attack twenty years previous) the newcomers had maintained contact with the dingo through the intervening decades. The Nuclear attack and resulting Fallout of 3050 resulted in both Echidnapolis and Dingo City being 'removed' from normal space time, by the Guardian Hawking, and his Hyper Zone Projector. Though the conflict between the Dark Legion and the Floating Island Guardians wound continue unabated for almost two centuries, the dingo and echidna had no contact with the outside world.  
  
In 3234, the use of the Ultimate Annihilator broke down the boundaries that kept Echidnapolis and Dingo City from normal space-time, returning them to the Floating Island. In the process, however, Dingo City was destroyed, and the dingoes that fled from it were forced to find refuge in Echidnapolis, where they quickly became seen as second-class citizens. Continued manipulations on the part of the Dark Legion (like the attempted coup of 3235, and the insurrection of 3236), along with growing Dingo demands for a new homeland, coupled with the Mogul Crisis of 3235, have presented a continuing security threat for the echidna.   
  
The Echidnapolis government is a Gerontocracy, led by a council of Elders. The Head of State is an elected official known as a High Councilor, or Chancellor, who presents and approves (or vetoes) legislation passed by the Council of Elders. While the Chancellor is elected bi-yearly by popular vote, from one of the five main political parties, his cabinet is not elected, nor are the (replacement) Elders he appoints to the High Council (who all serve life terms and cannot be removed). Behind the scenes, the Brotherhood of Guardians, based in Haven, monitor and covertly influence Echidna society and politics.   
  
Echidna domestic and foreign policy has always been aimed at limiting or containing the power and influence of their traditional enemies, the Dingo, and this continued to be the case. Most Elders see a Dingo-Mobian Axis as a serious threat to Echidna prosperity, and reject any notion of granting the Dingo territory on Angel Island. Recently, Echidnapolis has experienced a population boom, and many in the government are looking off-Island for areas to colonize, especially as most of the Floating Island's natural resources have been exhausted over the years. There is also talk of re-unification with the Lost Echidna Tribe in nearby Albion.  
  
Advantages and Disadvantages:  
  
The Greatest advantage of the echidna is their high level of technology. Eager to take their place on the world stage once more, the echidna have turned to technology and trade to facilitate their "great place" in the world. Echidnapolis is home to a highly literate, well-educated population, and productive population. However, echidna industry, while efficient, is almost nonexistent in comparison to that left behind on mainland Mobius. Their population, while growing rapidly, is also still much lower than that in the Kingdom of Acorn, and the Council of Elders is loathe to cede political or economic authority to native non-echidna, who face growing discrimination.   
  
**Other Notes:**  
  
**Characters:**  
_Active (Haven) Guardians:_  
Locke  
Sabre  
Sojurner  
Thunderhawk  
Spectre  
  
_Government:_  
Chancellor Vasek "  
Constable Remington  
Sub-constable Derringer "  
General Reznik "  
  
_Chaotix:_  
Knuckles  
Espio  
Vector  
Mighty  
Julie-Su  
  
_Dark Legion:_  
Dimitri  
Lien Da (aka Kommissar)  
Xenin  
  
_Other:_  
Lara-le  
Wynmacher  
Archimedes  
  
**Details on Characters:  
  
Military:**  
The echidna military is both a very old and very young, institution. In function, there has not been an echidna military organization since the Enerjak Crisis and the Rise of the Dark Legion. The Luddite Retro Movement and the disbarment of the use of technology extended to the branches of the echidna armed forces, gradually dissolving their effectiveness to the point where they became virtually nonexistent. After millennia of combat, of fighting at sea, in the air, and on land, the mighty echidna military machine was destroyed not by its ancient enemies, the Dingo, but by its own people. The echidna, as a race, survived partly due to luck, but largely due to the steadfast dedication of the Brotherhood of Guardians and their Fire Ant benefactors.  
  
After the return of Echidnapolis, however, and the incessant troubles caused by divisive elements in echidna society (Dark Legion, political malcontents, Dingo riots, etc…), it was decided to strengthen security, both internally and externally. As technology restrictions became lifted, a new security organization geared up to face the challenges of the thirty third century. It was decided that Echidnapolis could not solely rely on good fortune and benevolent individual Guardians to safeguard the population. In early 3237, the Council of Elders approved the "New Island Security Act" that created a new security department for external affairs. Though it did not see action during the remainder of the Robotnick War, none doubt that it would have given an honorable accounting of itself against such an enemy.  
  
The Echidnapolis Security Council maintains both a military and a civilian branch, the civilian branch, the Echidnapolis Security Agency (ESA), or just "Interior," handles all on-island affairs, including police work, civilian trials and disputes, and the like. Additionally, under appropriate circumstances, it is empowered to mobilize a citizen militia for the emergency defense of the Floating Island. However the Interior's authority terminates at the edge of the Island, limiting any off-island activity. A Constable appointed by the Security Council subcommittee heads the ESA.  
  
The other branch of the Security Council is the Echidnapolis Self Defense Forces (SDF, or E-SDF), which handles the "proactive" defense of the Floating Island and its interests. This extends to "police" actions, large-scale standing military exercises, and the maintenance of separate courts of law in potential Colonial Territories or Protectorates. The SDF is a growing and energetic organization, but one that has yet to prove itself in combat. It is headed by a Conservator, appointed (by the Sec Council) from amid the Generals, who is personally given the task of guarding the Echidnapolis Grand Conservatory, wherein all the accumulated knowledge of the echidna is stored. It should also be noted here that current Sec Council Policy is that only echidna may be admitted for Commissioned Officer Training in the SDF.********


	3. Faction Brief 3 The Quaz Xialjyet

** Name:**  
_The Quaz Xialjyet_ (cu-waz-zaal-g-et)  
_"The Hive"_  
  
**Territory:**  
Several highland areas on Angel Island, bordering Mt. Thunder and Mt. Fate. These include Strawberry Fields, Rocky Hill, and Rainbow Valley. The seven colonies of the Quaz Xialjyet generally consist of a single breed of mobian (92 to 96% of the population).  
  
**Cities:**  
_Honey Bee Breed: _ (Apidae)  
Goldenhive (Erez Quaz)  
Silverhive (Tanez Quaz)  
Ironhive (Ibin Quaz)  
Nickelhive (Lanin Quaz)  
  
_Paper Wasp Breed: _ (Vespidae)  
Maison (Maison Quaz)  
  
_Yellow Jacket Breed: _ (Vespidae)  
Yellow Jacket (Baq Tak Quaz)  
  
_Giant Hornet Breed: _ (Vespidae)  
Yamato (Yamato Quaz)  
  
**History: **  
The insects of the Floating Island are among the Island's oldest residents, having established themselves in the land of Downunda before either the echidna or dingo. Their fortunes at that time were closely tied to the weather: they would prosper in the summer and spring, before suffering in the fall and winter. As a result of this, their impact on the history of Downunda and the Floating Island has been generally non-existent. While the Fire Ants were able to affect changes in the world through the echidna, the isolationist and xenophobic _Vespidae_ and the generally peaceful _Apidae_ kept to themselves.  
  
This changed with the rise of the Floating Island, and the changes in climate caused by its orbit across Mobius. While the Island was over the vast expanse of the Tranquil Sea, the insects suffered great hardship, and their numbers dwindled. The situation only grew worse as the Floating Island approached the hostile lands of Overland and the Kitsune North. The Nuclear Attack of 3050 nearly wiped them out, but as the Island again began moving southward, the weather improved dramatically, and with the Island suddenly vacant of echidna and dingo they began a period of repopulation and rapid growth. To better facilitate this, a council of the four surviving insect Breeds of the Order _Hymenoptera_ was convened in 3166 (roughly coinciding with the Guardian Succession Crisis prompted by Athair's 'abandoning' the Floating Island). They agreed to enter into an Alliance, the _Quaz Xialjyet_, and divide the Floating Island (and nearby continental areas) into separate spheres of influence and colonization.  
  
The _Quaz Xialjyet_ was caught completely by surprise when the city of Echidnapolis re-manifested in 3235, along with the ensuing chaos that followed. Choosing not to intervene in the attempted take over of Mammoth Mogul the next year, or the Dark Legion Insurrections the years previous, but opted to bide their time and build their strength. Already committed to a plan of expansion ("The eggs are laid – they await the order to emerge"), from seven colonies to a proposed twenty one, the _Quaz Xialjyet_ knows that it cannot avoid a confrontation with the echidna (and dingo) for control of the Floating Island. Aware that time is not their ally; The Hive has been forced to press forward its colonization timetable.  
  
The _Quaz Xialjyet_ is an Alliance of the four surviving breeds of Order _Hymenoptera_. While not a Hive-Mind, the majority of its 'citizens' are sub-sentient non-fertile female drones, with no real personality or ambition. Above the legions of drones, are the Breeding Castes: the Males, the Juvenile Queens, and the Mature Queens. These are the sentient creatures that lead the colonies that make up the _Quaz Xialjyet_.   
  
Traditionally, the Males are responsible for scouting out new nesting sites, which they then offer as a dowry to attract a royal mate. Evolving out of this, the tiny Male Caste heads all military operations within the _Quaz Xialjyet_. While the King of a Colony is considered 'retired,' and his mate assumes control over his realm, the remaining Princes vie for influence, power, and land, in an effort to become the next Colonial King. The most powerful Princes form a close-knit group known as the Conclave, that leads the expansionist efforts of the _Quaz Xialjyet_ (the Conclave typically meets in different colonies, following a rotating schedule). The elected leader of this group is known as the _Quaz Marat_, or Hive Prince (or Prince of Princes). Note that the four _Apidae_ Hives form a subgroup within the _Quaz Xialjyet_, known as the "Bee Realm," and typically led by the High Prince of the larger Goldenhive Colony.   
  
**Advantages and Disadvantages:**  
The drone soldiers of the _Quaz Xialjyet_ do not use normal weaponry, eschewing traditional ranged warfare in favor of frantic melee combat. Most Soldiers attack with their stingers, impaling or decapitating their enemies; those that survive the attacks typically succumb to the poison later on. This is not to say that the Hive has no non-melee weaponry. The biologically based explosives of the Paper Wasp Breed are formidable, and the _Quaz Xialjyet_ manufactures a series of Biotech-based ranged weapons used by special units with each Armee. The Hives themselves are highly productive in their areas of manufacture, and can replace losses more quickly than any other group on the planet.   
**  
Other Notes:**  
**  
Characters:**  
Prince Charmy of Goldenhive  
Princess Safron of Goldenhive  
Prince Mello of Nickelhive "  
Prince Argent of Silverhive "  
Prince Ferric of Ironhive "  
Prince Pierre of Maison "  
Prince Taji of Yellow Jacket "  
Prince Kenichi of Yamato "  
  
**Details on Characters:**  
  
**Military:**  
The _Quaz Xialjyet _is organized into fourteen standing Offensive and Defensive Armies ("Armeez"), with each Colony providing one Offensive Armee, one Defensive Armee, and one Reserve. Each Defensive Armee guards an area around its sponsor colony, and consists of 80% local native Soldiers, and 20% imported Allied Soldiers. Offensive Armeez are more diverse, and are generally 60% local native, 40% imported Allies. Reserve Armeez are 100% native. When not active, Soldier Drones enter a state of suspended animation, during which they are cared for by Worker Drones. This allows a colony to maintain a very large reserve force with minimal energy expenditure. The Conclave also reserves the right to order the birthing and creation of fourteen additional Expeditionary Armeez of a set organization.  
  
Within the _Quaz Xialjyet_, each Breed of Soldier Drone typically specializes in a certain field. The Paper Wasp Soldiers generally form an Engineering Division, so it is expected that Paper Wasp Armees will be at the forefront of any attack on a hardened target. The Yellow Jacket Soldiers are the fastest, and function in a highly mobile attack or reserve capacity. The Giant Hornet Breed naturally fills the role of Heavy Assault and Attack, while the more numerous Honeybee Soldiers specialize in swarm-tactics. 


	4. Faction Brief 4 The Terran Protectora

** Name**  
_The Terran Protectorate_  
  
**Territory **  
A medium sized area of land nestled between the Felix Mountains to the southwest, the Great Plains to the southeast, and the Frozen Tundra to the North. They also maintain a claim on the abandoned continent of Overland, and the derelict cities there (including the remains of Station Square).   
  
**Cities**  
Tesslik City  
  
**History**  
The history of the humans and overlanders of Mobius is a convoluted one, built on half-truths and misinterpretations. Some theories maintain that the humans are an alien species, migrated (or taken) from another planet and transplanted to Mobius. Other theories speculate that the humans are the only native species to the planet, and that the Mobians are either the alien transplants, or products of an ancient and highly advanced human society that predates Mobian records. The truth, unfortunately, has been lost to time. Even ancient societies, like the kitsune and dragonkin, who have accurate knowledge of pre-Mobian (Early Mogul Age) times, are in the dark as to the true origins of mankind.   
  
Of them all, only one living creature knows the truth: the enigmatic being known as Merlin…  
  
What is well known is that the overlanders developed their civilization on the "lost continent" of Overland, to the Far West of the main Mobian continent, north of Cat Country. The overlanders (identified by their four fingers) lived there in relative isolation for hundreds of years. The earliest Mobian documents (from the Second Mogulian Republic: 940 – 1350 MC) record four fingered creatures from 'the other side of the world' (no doubt a reference to the individual being from across the Tranquil Sea, which was then thought to lead to the end of the world) of great height, noble bearing, and light 'fur-less' complexion. The description then elaborates:  
  
"He was possessed of at least eleven hands in height (1.72 meters in modern terms), and he was as broad as the most stout of lupines. He had the bearing of a predator, with light blue eyes, though he had not claws on his fingers, nor fangs of any great measure. Strangest of all, he had no coat to speak of, save for a mat of bizarre and bleached fur on the crown of his head. He was cloaked in the hides of animals, the likes of which none had the knowledge to identify. Surprisingly, it did not take long to begin to understand his foreign language, and we were soon able to converse as distant kin do."  
  
Contact with the distant continent of Overland was sporadic at best. They were great seafarers, who explored much of the Mobian coast in the following years. They traded exotic goods in exchange for Mobian silks and spices, and maintained a trading partnership with the dingo of Downunda long after the fall of the Second Republic forced them from the now-chaotic main continent. They rarely involved themselves with Mobian affairs, but did occasionally intervene in neighboring Cat Country. They entered a long isolationist phase around 1800 MC, during which Overland closed its borders and had little or no contact with the outside world.  
  
The reasons for this remained a mystery for a long time, until Overlander records revealed the truth: ancient ruins had been found of a pre-Mobian society, and amid those ruins were the "Relic-men." These were five fingered humans, kept in a form of stasis. The overlanders worshipped the Relic-men, and somehow triggered their re-awakening. Accepted as Gods, the Relic-men came to rule over their overlander brethren, and intermingle with them. What followed was a religious war between those city-states that worshipped the Relic-men, and those that 'turned against their infinite wisdom.' The wars ravaged the continent, and the schism between the descendants of the 'Faithful' and the 'Faithless' raged for centuries, until the near present.   
  
Around 2600 MC, Mercian and Feline accounts tell of a 'great fire in the north, a thunder that shook the heavens, and an angry god that tore open the earth.' Investigations of the continent of Overland revealed the truth behind the myth. The Wars of Religion had ended in a nuclear exchange that further decimated the continent of Overland, forever scarring its people. The ancient bombs had been found with the Relic-men, and had likely been used without thought for the actual damage they could do. Over the next few centuries, the surviving humans and overlanders faced Mobian migrations from the south and east, and reacted harshly in every instance. No longer comfortable in their relative untouchability, they became increasingly xenophobic. Overland started to be named "the Central Kingdom" on human maps, and the Era of Overlander Slavery began around 2800 MC.   
  
By the time the Floating Island approached the continent, the humans had begun operating as a Confederation of city-states (which continually vied with one another for power and influence). Further attacks on the Floating Island were repulsed by the Guardians there, and a concerted attack was withdrawn as being impractical. Overland was poor in easily acquired natural resources, and the need to economically expand was strong. By 3000, many of the coastal provinces operated a thriving slave trade as part of the Overlander colonization strategy.   
  
Mobians were harvested for labor, or to be sold to other regions like the Ginger Islands, Cat Country, or even the Kingdom of Acorn. Slave revolts, however, proved problematic, especially after Mobian Emancipation was promised by Melchoir the Mighty in 3110. As a result of the First Overlander War (3112-3130), the humans and overlanders drew closer together, forming a more centralized government. By 3178, the coastal city of New Denver, named after a city mentioned in ancient Relic archives, had grown in size and prominence, becoming the new capitol of the Terran Federation (Humans, naturally, have a different name for Mobius: Terra).   
  
The Second Overlander War (3188-3193) began over two pivotal events: the Mercian revolt of 3188, and the impact of Mobian pirates preying on Overlander shipping from bases on Acorn supported Downunda. Though the war did not produce any truly significant territorial victories for the humans, it did cement their dominance of the seas and the strength of the Terran Federation, which soon began a series of successful reforms and modernization programs. By the time the Great War broke out in 3220, the humans and overlanders were superbly prepared. Despite initial losses, they began a methodical and efficient offensive into Mobian held lands, annexing them into the Greater Terran Federation. After numerous victories on the battlefield, the Terran strategy shifted from expanding its resource base and creating buffer states to a dream of total conquest of the entirety of Mobius.   
  
The defection of Julian Kintobor is tied to the history of the Kintobor/Robotnick family. History records that a Kintobor was present among the Relic-men of a millennia ago, and that they eventually became a powerful and important Family under the Confederation of States (it is of historical note that all prominent overlander/human Families draw their ancestry back to one of the legendary Relic-men). A Kintobor (Brutus Kintobor) led an exploratory expedition to the Floating Island in 2960, and his grandson (Octavian Kintobor) negotiated an Alliance with the Dingo that resulted in the Nuclear Fallout of 3050.   
  
Octavian would use the incident, and the defeat of a potentially powerful enemy (the echidna) to catapult himself into the position of First Primarch in 3052. The position of Primarch would become rather powerless after his death in 3069, until the establishment of the Federation brought it back to prominence as more than a ceremonial title. The Kintobor Family would continue to hold political power for many years, but it would become most infamous for its scientific pursuits. Gerald Kintobor was born in 3160, an only child, and opted not to pursue the Family tradition of inheriting the position of Primarch. Instead, he became a scientist, and handed over political power to the Yeliw Family (changing his own name to Robotnick) in exchange for government funding of his pet project: the Space Station ARK.  
  
The ARK experiment ended in disaster. Gerald proved hesitant to cooperate with his government and military contractors, and after a series of incidents action was taken to seize the expensive ARK facility. The space station was destroyed in 3219, with a loss of all hands, including Gerald's granddaughter Maria. The surviving Family (led by Gerald's oldest son, Ivo) changed their name back to Kintobor, and renounced their former patriarch. The Family spent the next generation languishing in shame over the debacle that had surrounded Gerald, but maintained hope that their eldest son, Colin, would be able to again reassert Kintobor possession of the title of Primarch. The younger brother, however, a man named Julian, also wanted to seize power in a more radical way – he wanted total control, not simply a semi-elected position of leadership.   
  
During the first half of the Great War In 3224, after an unsuccessful attempt to overthrow the government and murder the reigning Primarch, Julian Kintobor fled to the Kingdom of Acorn. At home, he was wanted as head of the Mandrake Conspiracy, and his Family refused to harbor him. Eventually, he came to work for the Kingdom of Acorn as a military advisor (Maximilian I dismissed any notions of Julian's extradition as a first step to peace negotiations), and in 3228 he officially replaced Kodos as Sixth Imperial Warlord. While he eventually stated a coup (3230) and seized power of the Kingdom of Acorn, his brother, Colin, assumed the title of Primarch that same year (however, after the attempted coup, and in light of Kintobor unreliability, he was only one of three acknowledged Primarchs, who operated as a Triumvirate). In early 3233, Colin's only son, Colin, Jr. (aka Snively), revealed that he was in league with his uncle, Julian Kintobor (who now styled himself Robotnick, in honor of his dead Grandfather Gerald).   
  
His betrayal undermined Federation efforts at an effective defense, and led to their eventual defeat later that year. Decimated by the loss, Colin resigned from his position as Primarch, and fled with the remains of his Family to Station Square – a hidden city built around where the original Relic-men had been unearthed. Many joined the former Primarch, and this small pocket of humans and overlanders survived the holocaust that wiped out most of their kind in 3233. An elected position of President was adopted in lieu of an effective Primarch, and the city survived in that state of isolation for several years. However, in 3236 it became involved in world affairs following the return of Robotnick/Eggman that same year. Despite surviving the Perfect Chaos Incident, it was destroyed under mysterious circumstances in early 3237 – among the dead were Colin Kintobor, who was survived by only two children: Hope, and Colin Jr. With the death of Snively (as the entity Helios) in late 3237, Hope stands as the only survivor of the Kintobor name.   
  
The remaining humans and overlanders, remnants of what had once been the military GUN organization, escaped across the sea. They found some refuge through an alliance with another human, known only as "Mastermind," who offered them shelter in the industrial city of Tesslik (which he had captured for his own use in 3236). The newly christened "Terran Protectorate" is still primarily a military organization, built along military lines of rank and file. They have integrated themselves into Mastermind's primarily robot (droid) based army, and assumed important command level positions. They owe their allegiance to Mastermind, and his human-supremacist ideology, and appear to have accepted him as a new 'commander in chief.' Functionally, the three arms of the organization are run by Aya Florentine (military command and control), Mya Florentine (Research and Development), and Halcyon Brin (Domestic policy).   
  
**Advantages and Disadvantages:**  
The humans and overlanders of the Terran Protectorate enjoy a very high level of technology, and a very capable level of advanced and relatively clean industry. They are physically, on average, larger and stronger than most Mobians. They are well educated, well trained, well equipped, and physically superior to most potential opponents. However, their population is extremely small, and their rate of growth is much slower than that of neighboring Mobians. The humans and overlanders have attempted to compensate by employing Mobian Slave Labor, and extensive use of robots and driods to supplant their meager human resources. They are one of the few races the Kitsune respect, and are currently seeking a closer alignment with the Northern Barbarian Foxes. There is some level of conflict between overlander and humans, within the greater Terran society, but few outsiders are privy to the details.  
  
**Other Notes:**  
  
**Characters:**  
Mastermind '  
Aya Florentine '  
Mya Florentine '  
Halcyon Brin '  
Assorted Mutates '  
Robot/Driod Character (unnamed) '  
  
**Details on Characters:**  
  
**Military:**  
The Terran military is essentially their entire society. Virtually every surviving human or overlander was once a part of the GUN organization. As such, every member of the population can be considered a well-trained and equipped combatant. Because of the irreplaceable nature of human of overlander lives, most of the fighting is done by Droids – robotic fighting machines, synonymous with Robotnick's Combots or GUN's Mechanist Corps. Should that line of defense fail, the Protectorate fields a superbly trained, motivated and equipped Marine Corps, designed for lightning warfare, rapid deployment, and quick assault, the idea being to expose them to enemy fire for the shortest possible period of time. Human tacticians are considered the best in the world, and their weapons are top notch and generally considered superior to echidnwww.vices of similar make. 


	5. Faction Brief 5 The Kistune Assembly

** Name:**  
_The Kistune Assembly of Clans_  
  
**Territory: **  
The northern-most areas of both the main Mobian continent and Overland. These include primarily thick coniferous forests, great tracts of tundra, and some steppe-lands.   
  
**Cities:**  
None.   
  
**History:**  
The kitsune creation myth states that they were created as the Second of the Second Races, after the Lupines, by formerly mortal beings known as "Lord of the Ice" (or The First Race, Ancients, or First Ones). The kitsunes do not place a date for this event, but rather refer to it as 'during another Age.' The kitsune have undeniably been around for a very long time, and in all that time they have been known to leave their domains in the north only rarely.  
  
In truth, the kitsune are among the youngest of the so-called 'Second Races.' They were created in a time that totally predates even the earliest Mogulian civilization (more than ten thousand years before the present) by the enigmatic entity known, most contemporarily, as Merlin. The Destroyer Merlin crafted the kitsune as one of his many "Chimera Races," with which he eventually planned to re-populate the world and create a perfectly stable civilization to last a million years: an "Infinite Empire." He did this by manipulating the genetics of already existing mobian races, including his own, giving the kitsune inborn psionic abilities and an ancestor memory – all for the express purpose of designing a society that would value Tradition above all else, and never change, even over tens of thousands of years.   
  
The experiment was a success.  
  
However, when the time came, Merlin was unable to stomach the thought of wiping out all the non-kitsune races of the world, many of which he himself had created or raised from prehistoric infancy. He retreated from the world, and left for the far north. The kitsune that worshipped him as their god (or gods) followed him, and settled in the northern regions of Mobius. In all likelihood, they would have remained there for untold generations, never changing, if not for the evolving nature of the outside world along their rarely changing southern borders. Over the centuries, they became involved in numerous conflicts with whatever Empires, Republics or Kingdoms developed in the south. These included the "Carnivore War" (2100 – 2300) that destroyed the Third Mogulian Republic and caused the Warring States Period that led to the creation of the Kingdom of Knothole. That conflict was also what earned the Felines the enmity of the kitsune, who maintain to this day that 'dishonorable Feline cowardice' prolonged the war and cost them untold lives.  
  
For well over a thousand years, prior to the Final Northern Border War (3121 –3133), several Southern Tribes of non-kitsune were accepted into the Kitsune Assembly as relative equals. These included other 'Second Races' with which the kitsune occasionally interbred, including the coyote (_surni'var_), artic lupine (_lupani'var_), one-tailed fox (_vulpani'var_), and other canid breeds. Their defection, prompted by desires for a better, more 'civilized' life as part of the resurgent Kingdom of Acorn, further served to alienate the kitsune from their southern neighbors. For many kitsune, the memory of the betrayal (passed down from their ancestors) has not faded, and only serves to warrant leaving the southern lands of Mobius to rot on their own – or worse, as justification for an attack on those same lands in the near future.  
  
In the years that followed, the Kitsune also waged war on the Echidna, the Dingo, Overlanders, and anyone else who approached their nebulously demarcated territory. The kitsune did not (officially) participate in any of the Mobian-Overlander wars, the Great War, or the Robotnick Wars, considering all of them to be 'southern wars' in which they had no interest. The fractured nature of the kitsune civilization, and the generally stubborn nature of kitsune in general, make it difficult to cause even slight changes in policy. The kitsune equate strength with honor, and follow it somewhat blindly, hence it requires an incredibly strong leader (that no other kitsune leader is willing to challenge) to convince the Kitsune Clans to act in concert.   
  
**Advantages and Disadvantages:**  
  
Kitsune are incredibly strong and fast; they spend their lives training to fight. Everything in kitsune society revolves around fighting or conflict. They fight for position in kitsune society, they fight for mates, they fight for dominance among littermates, they fight for food and they fight for amusement and honor. Physically, kitsunes are as large as most mobian wolves, and they reach this size suddenly, during a growth phase called the "Turan'Ha." They are stronger than their cousin breeds, matched on average only by other Chimera races, like the dragonkin, and their psionic abilities allow most kitsune to project fear and panic in the minds of others. Elder kitsune, with several lifetimes of experience, have even greater psionic abilities. However, a downside is that the kitsune require huge amounts of raw meat to maintain their metabolisms, their population is far smaller than they prefer outsiders to believe, and they life relatively short lives.  
  
**Other Notes:**  
  
(More on kitsune physiology)  
  
In adolescence, before puberty, the only physical difference between the Northern Fox and the southern, more common, variety, are the two tails, caused by the splitting of the vertebrae during the Second trimester. It is after puberty that the difference between the two becomes more distinct. Outwardly, the fox grows very rapidly, becoming far larger and stronger than its one-tailed brethren. Inwardly, a unique retrovirus, once dormant, is triggered by the hormonal changes, and rewrites virtually all of the fox's internal structure - increasing bone mass and strength, muscles and tissue fiber distributions, and even leading to the growth of redundant internal structures. The resulting animal is actually genetically different from when it was born, as if the animal itself evolved into another species entirely. However, the children of these creatures are born unaffected by the virus, and in a 'pure' unaltered state, though the virus itself is dormant within them.  
  
More importantly, aside from physical strength, each fox has formidable psionic powers, most of which are defensive in nature, or passive in application, but even the mid range psionic foxes have the limited ability to transfer thoughts, induce extreme emotional responses, and even cause brain damage (in extreme cases) to most non-kitsune enemies. The more developed ones are capable of the same, but on a larger scale, against multiple opponents, as well as mind blanking, memory implantation, telekinesis, enhanced senses, precognition. A select few, the Elders, are even capable of forcing 'explosive decoupling' of target materials, psionic projections and manifestations, and psionic shielding that can resist kinetic attacks. The Elders are the only 'normal' instances of this level of psionics, and is likely a byproduct of their age, and a counterbalance to their physical deterioration.  
  
**Characters:**  
Miles "Tails" Prower  
Tempest  
Chara  
  
Others  
  
**Details on Characters:**  
(The entry for Clan Turo, below, reveals that the current Ruling Family of the Clan is Cecrops. Tails/Miles is thus related to them, through his mother's bloodline. Miles full name being Miles Se' Prower Na' Turo, Prower being his father, Eblis', Family.)  
  
**Military:**  
The kitsune are divided into several major Clans (and several minor ones). They are listed in order of Prominence (a function of size, perceived honor, and other nuances). The more prominent Clan leaders have a stronger voice in the Assembly, and more influence with both the other Ephor Anthals and with the Council of Elders (that acts primarily in an advisory fashion). Heirs are also designated by the title Ephor Anthal Enir.  
  
_**Clan Turo**_  
  
Turo is the largest of the seven major kitsune Clans; the most powerful and influential, with the oldest recorded history. Turo controls a swath of the Northlands bordering the inhospitable Icy North, and occupying much of the rich northern forests. Turo does not share a border with non-kitsune peoples, and its leaders tend towards strict traditionalism and isolation from the outside world. Most warriors of Clan Turo specialize in some sort of swordplay.   
  
_Ephor Anthal :_  
Khaldun Se' Cecrops Na' Turo  
_Ephor Anthal Enir : _  
Kontar Se' Cecrops  
  
_**Clan Jel'Arah**_  
  
Jel'Arah is generally accepted to be the second oldest of the Clans. It controls lands to the east and southeast of Turo, including the Steppes of Arah and parts of the Frozen Wastes (Frozen Tundra). It traditionally stood near where the Kingdom of Acorn and the humans/overlanders often skirmished, an area that is now occupied by the Terran Protectorate. The noble families of Jel'Arah are notoriously haughty, and are often at odds with those of Turo. Most warriors of Clan Jel'Arah specialize in the use of the bow.   
  
_Ephor Anthal : _  
Tae-Uhl Se' Dommu Na' Jel'Arah  
_Ephor Anthal Enir : _  
El'Aran Se' Dommu Na' Jel'Arah  
  
_**Clan Dae'th'ai**_  
  
Dae'th'ai is the second youngest of the major Clans. Many centuries ago, its first families spread to the far off continent of Overland, via the Western Straits. They eventually came to inhabit the far northern forests of that land. The Dae'th'ai were the first to make contact with the overlanders, and they were the first to launch raids on the Floating Island when it neared their perceived borders. The Dae'th'ai are well known for their daring and adventurism, leading many unmated heirs, and many non-heir youngsters, to take up honorable Quests or Causes. The Dae'th'ai specialize in the axe, and thrown weapons.   
  
_Ephor Anthal : _  
Andras Se' Maltena Na' Dae'th'ai  
_Ephor Anthal Enir : _  
Andrexi Se' Maltena  
  
_**Clan Tukaido**_  
  
Tukaido is the third oldest Clan, occupying territory between the Dae'th'ai and Turo, much of which is sparse forests, or grassland. Of the Clans, Tukaido tended to see the least actual combat, as the mountains of the Charon Range shelter its southern borders. Lacking nearby enemies, the Tukaido eventually became notorious for their scheming and manipulation of the other Clans. Tukaido tends to produce excellent tactical and strategic leaders, who spend much time tutoring (or manipulating) other Clans to improve the standing of their own Clan. Most Tukaido receive training in the use of the spear and pike.   
  
_Ephor Anthal : _  
Thandothane Se' Gallan Na' Tukaido  
_Ephor Anthal Enir :_  
none  
  
_**Clan Vidar**_  
  
Clan Vidar, the third youngest, is among the southernmost of the major Kitsune Clans. It is directly south of Turo, and north of the 'southlands' where the Southern Clans used to live. Vidar experienced a great rise in power when the Southern Clans were accepted into the Kitsune Assembly, and a similar loss in prestige when the Southern Clans betrayed their kin and allied with Melchoir the Mighty, in the Final Northern Border War (3121 –3133). Vidar's current standing stems from its long string of victories in combat, and from its manufacture of the infamous Kitsune Polearm. The Polearm, the main weapon of the Vidar, was the first to utilize Echidna compression technology, and the first to integrate a ranged attack with a melee weapon. Unfortunately, Vidar also has a long history of unclear succession, and needless power struggles.   
  
_Ephor Anthal :_   
Tempest Se' Taima Na' Vidar  
_Ephor Anthal Enir :_  
none  
  
_**Clan Kalahen**_  
  
The youngest of the Major Clans, the fierce and aggressive Kalahen Clan are native to the harsh Frozen Tundra (or aptly named: Frozen Wastes) to the east of Clan Jel'Arah. The lands on which they live are extremely hostile, even by kitsune standards, and Kalahen Warriors are well known for their hardiness (as well as viciousness). The 'wild trait,' which can lead to bouts of uncontrolled hyper-aggression, runs rampant within Kalahen bloodlines, even reaching that of its ruling Family. More Kalahen blood duels result in death than in any other Clan. The sparse population, combined with the somewhat unpredictable nature of Kalahen leaders, and their possession of the Wild Trait, keeps the Clan from having higher standing.   
  
_Ephor Anthal : _  
Bloodsmythe Se' Vel Na' Kalahen  
_Ephor Anthal Enir :_  
none  
  
_**Clan Fa'Rah**_  
  
Between Tukaido and Vidar in age, Fa'Rah is the most northern of the Major Clans. It occupies lands touching the Arctic Sea, north of Turo (on the main continent), and north of Dae'th'ai (on overland). Fa'Rah tends to produce the most Elders, and is generally seen as the most spiritual (or religious) of the Kitsune Clans. Fa'Rah is highly traditional, still practicing Traditions even the Turo have abandoned or reformed. Fa'Rah are well known for their fatalism, and thus their leadership is generally weak, and the Clan does little to attempt to enhance its own prestige. Only the high esteem and influence of its Elders keeps it as part of the High Assembly (of Major Clans).   
  
_Ephor Anthal : _  
Hist Se' Saren Na' Fa'Rah  
_Ephor Anthal Enir :_  
Ralagh Se'Saren 


	6. Faction Brief 6 The Dingo Hegemony

** Name:**  
_The Dingo _  
_Dingo Hegemony_  
  
**Territory:**  
None  
  
**Cities:**  
None  
  
**History:**  
  
(Much of the background for the Dingo can be found under the History of the Echidna)  
  
Little is known of the dingo prior to their initial contact, and conflicts with, the Echidna in the land that is now Downunda. Genetic and linguistic studies have proven that they are more closely related to the continental canine breeds than to the Wolf Packs; the common theory being that they were then not a parallel offshoot of that ancient breed, but a nomadic people, descendants of canine "short haired" migrants to eastern Mobius, and native to the arid regions of the Southeast peninsula.   
  
Even in the heyday of the First Mogulian Republic, when they area was brought under the jurisdiction of the Despotate Tiberius the Minor, little success was made in transforming the local nomadic proto-dingo into settled peoples. Rather, the Republic preferred to recruit the hardy warriors as mercenaries. This was to change around 500 MC, when the First Republic fell to a coalition of rogue Despotates under the overall command of Proconsul Parandmus Bahndar, a half dingo canine who had originally been a mercenary in the Army. During this time, dingo raiders took a heavy and unopposed toll on the meticulously built irrigation networks that had slowly transformed much of the Southeastern Peninsula from arid scrubland to cultivated field.   
  
As a result of this pillage, and irreparable damage done to canals, dykes, and underground water channels, the land reverted to arid steppe and desert. The dingo had 'won back' their land from the foreign settlers, but their own population (now higher than it had ever been before) was about to pay the price for it. Without the farmlands and Mogulian towns to trade with, the dingo found themselves short on food and water. Several years of unseasonable drought compounded the problem, and large numbers of dingo fled to the north and east.   
  
In the north, the dingo nomads managed to overrun thousands of square miles of still rich farmland in the Great Plains, establishing the short lived Dingo Empire in the "wood capitol" of Dingora. For a time, this entity stretched the entire length of coast from the southernmost tip of the Southeast peninsula, all the way up to the Clanlands of the Frozen North, and from the Tranquil Sea to the Felix Mountains. At the same time, other groups of dingo built (or acquired through plunder) many Mogulian triremes, and with these craft braved the Straits of White beyond the Chalk Cliffs, landing in western Downunda. Within a few decades, the First Republic had been replaced by the Second, which immediately began to put pressure on the Dingo Empire. By the time the northern dingo began to feel the assault of the Second Mogulian Republic, they had become more accustomed to a civilized existence. When the Empire collapsed, the leaders fled south, and then across the Straits of White into Downunda.   
  
Thus laying the foundations of the Dingo Hegemony.   
  
The well-documented conflicts between the Dingo and Echidna continued well into the present. In part, this was the Dingo commitment to a Downunda civilization, instead of a continental one. No doubt the rich mineral resources of Downunda, and its relative isolation, were substantial motivators in light of a still hostile Second Republic on the main continent. By the mid second millennium, (around 2500 MC), the dingo population of the Southeastern Peninsula was negligible, and composed of an elite that ruled over other mobian breeds that had resettled the region. In fact, for virtually a millennium, the region was a vassal of both the Dingo Hegemony and the Second Republic.   
  
Dingo presence in the Southeastern Peninsula disappeared altogether in 2480 MC, when the Kingdom of Acorn under the rule of Charon the Great annexed the Southeastern Peninsula, decisively defeating the Tappenden (dingo for 'warrior') Despotates that had administered to the region for the last eight hundred years (long after the fall of the Mogulian Republics, themselves). The last Tappenden Despotate of Dingoland (the Southeastern Peninsula) fled with his followers to Downunda, where the title survived in ceremonial form for another fifty years. Eventually, it was given to the King of the Acorn Dynasty, Xerxes II Braccius, as a diplomatic gesture of recognition.  
  
As was mentioned previously, the Dingo Hegemony reached a pinnacle of power in the years after the Fall of the Third Republic, and the Sacking of Echidnapolis during the Carnivore (or 'Two Hundred Years') War, an event engineered by the legendary General Hernando von Danz. For almost four hundred years, the Dingo Hegemony was the most powerful entity on the planet, controlling the entirety of Downunda, large tracts of the Great Plains, Cat Country and the Southwest Continent of Mobius Minor. Lands from all across Mobius paid homage and vassalage to the Hegemony: the Tappenden in Dingoland, for example, and a great many of the Warring States that occupied the lands of the former Third Republic (including Houses Vorn and Acre, which would later form the Kingdom of Acorn). The dingo decline, in large part due to a number of foreign diseases striking Downunda, and cemented by the arrival of the Kayla-Dann Comet in 2814, broke the back of the Hegemony.   
  
Still, after several generations of de-facto servitude to the echidna, the dingo reformed the Hegemony under the indomitable Director-General Ulrich von Graff, under the pretext of fighting off the Kitsune Incursions of 2850 to 2910. Shortly after, they dingo again attempted to retake the Floating Island (which, as a part of Downunda, they considered theirs), and reassert control over their rivals the echidna. The greatest opportunity came following the Edmund-Dimitri feud, and the Echidna Luddite Movement. The dingo efforts were foiled, however, by the steadfast commitment of the Echidna Guardians, prompting the Dingo Director-General of that time, Ludwig von Essel, to make an alliance with the Human Octavian Kintobor, whose grandfather had led a failed expedition to the Floating Island in 2960. The Fallout of 3050 removed both echidna and dingo from the island for almost two hundred years.   
  
Having been displaced into a parallel zone by the Guardian Hawking, the dingo of Dingo City continued their plans for a resurgence and re-conquest of the Floating Island, fighting on and off with the echidna of Echidnapolis when their Zones permitted contact. Both also worked independently towards a solution to their imprisonment, but before it could be achieved, the use of the Ultimate Annihilator by Robotnick Prime on Mobius sent the two Zones reintegrating onto the Floating Island. During the process, only one could be saved, and in the end that was Echidnapolis. Abandoning Dingo City, and its vast munitions and weapons facilities, the remaining dingo found themselves again at the mercy of the echidna, without weapons, government, or even a home.   
  
Under the leadership of General Vicktor von Stryker the dingo participated in several major events, including the Mogul Crisis, and most recently the Battle(s) of Knothole. For this last engagement, the dingo organized substantial resources that had been taken out of Dingo City prior to its destruction, and which had been hidden to avoid echidna confiscation. Seeking political equality with the echidna, with no success, Stryker has organized numerous protests and mock-uprisings, but has had no success influencing the echidna political leadership. With the patronage of Miles "Tails" Prower and the construction of War Machine Factories under dingo control, he was assured a new homeland in the continent of Mobius Minor, where the General could formally re-create the Hegemony.   
**  
Advantages and Disadvantages:**  
  
Dingoes are large mobians, and are physically very hardy. Dingo society revolves around service to the State and a charismatic leader, military or otherwise. They prize efficiency, productivity, and honor above all else. The dingo, however, are without a state of their own, leaving a bitter taste in their collective mouths. The Dingo have no say in echidna politics, and contribute little to the economy beyond menial service jobs. This changed, only recently, with the construction of armament factories to be operated by Dingo, employing Dingo. This empowerment led to the Dingoes close relationship with the Kingdom of Acorn through Miles Prower (who funded the construction of the factories). Despite heavy losses in the Battle of Knothole, the dingo can still field a very formidable military presence, and their demands for a new homeland are getting harder and harder to ignore.   
  
**Other Notes**:  
  
**Characters:**  
General Viktor von Stryker  
  
**Details on Characters:**  
  
**Military:**  
  
It has been said, and not unjustly, that the dingo are not a subtle people. Nuance is not prized in their society, and their doctrines for war fighting reflect this. Dingo weapons are designed not simply to kill, but to reduce to as many pieces as possible, as efficiently as possible. The dingo invented the effective use of field artillery, sometime around 2000 MC, and continued to be at the forefront of its development. Most dingo infantry weapons are extremely efficient and effective, though heavy – they are designed for large bodied dingo to use, not normal mobians. High explosives and projectiles are the dingo's preferred fare, and they generally eschew the ostentatious-ness of energy weapons (the exact opposite of the echidna). The dingo have, however, been developing the promising technology of Ion Weapons as of 3237, but to its successful implementation in the Cyclone type War Machines.   
  
The dingo military is organized along conventional lines, the basic unit of which is a squad of 8 dingoes. Unlike other Mobians, however, dingo war fighting doctrines employ twice as many heavy weapons at the squad level, taking advantage of the greater strength of the average dingo. Above that, there are four Squads in a Platoon plus two Platoon Sergeants and the Platoon Leader. There are four Platoons in a Company, plus a Company HQ and a 60mm & 80mm mortar battery; Companies are typically designated Wanderer (A), Hunter (B), Prowler (C) and Stalker (D). All four Companies together with a Regimental HQ and assigned Regimental Artillery batteries (of 105mm and High Energy field guns) makes a full Regiment, around 600 strong. The Regiment that fought in the Defense of Knothole in 3237 was the combined 63rd and 56th Infantry. Two other Regiments (the combined 22nd, 12th and 6th, and the combined 31st, 45th, and 48th) fought as the core of the Allied (Mobian) Expeditionary Force. Some additional assets were committed to that great battle: including limited Divisional and Corps Artillery, some rebuilt Divisional Armor and Robot assets and Divisional fixed, hover, and rotary wing commitments.  
  
In its heyday, the Dingo Hegemony fielded nine full Armies (Eighteen operational Corps.) of 64 Regiments, each. Prior to the destruction of the Second Dingo City, the Dingo maintained only one standing Army (and one in Reserve). Despite the decimation suffered over the years, the Dingo have maintained their strict military hierarchy, in name and official rank if not in function (with no standing Divisions or Corps, multiple Generals are unnecessary). The current highest-ranking General (Four Stars) is Viktor von Stryker. 


	7. Faction Brief 7 Albion

** Name:**  
_Albion_  
  
**Territory: **  
The small island city-state of Albion  
  
**Cities:**  
The "Lost City" of Albion  
  
**History:**  
  
The self styled "Echidna Babylon" that is Albion has its origins in the first Echidna migrations believed to have occurred between the sixth and fifth centuries before the Mobian Common Calendar (BMC). During this time, the echidna native to the hostile territory of Mobius Minor lived a semi-pastoral existence, under the constant depredations of their more aggressive and less settled neighbors. While a significant number of echidna left the continent entirely, making their way south and west before reaching Downunda, the remaining population continued to decline. Within two centuries, the only surviving population of echidna on the continent lived in the land of Mercia.   
  
Traditional Albionian history holds that the city of Albion, located off the coast of Mercia proper, was founded before the construction of the first Echidna settlements in Downunda, but this has yet to be proven, and remains contested by many Echidnapolis scholars. What is known, to a select few academics and leaders within the "Lost City," is that parts of it are far older than the rest. When the local people discovered the method of carbon dating, it revealed that some of the oldest city structures and artifacts (ostensibly of echidna manufacture) were in excess of eleven millennia old! Making them three times as old as the recorded history of the city, whose written documents only go back to around 100 BMC.   
  
A leading (if unpopular) theory proposed by one Professor Landi-Re holds that Albion was founded on the ruins of a much older civilization, predating both the earliest echidna and Mogulian societies by several thousand years. The most commonly accepted theories (within Albion), however, maintain that the city was built by echidna, and that it was the first civilization on the planet, with a history at least four centuries older than that of the First Mogulian Republic. Discrepancies are generally explained as a result of some sort of undocumented 'dark age' during which the city lost its ancient written and oral heritage. The recent discovery of an ancient and highly developed phonographic script, as yet un-translated, but indisputably unrelated to any known modern tongue, does not support this supposition.   
  
Regardless of its somewhat mysterious origins, what is known is that the city of Albion quickly developed a high level of technology and social organization as early as 500 MC. Remaining in isolation, by choice and by design, the city grew only marginally over the next two millennium. Similarly, despite a dramatic head start (Albionian hydroculture, architecture, and other civil sciences remained unsurpassed for well over a thousand years), the population hardly increased, and never really improved upon the past. After a brief Golden Age, typically identified as occurring between 600 and 800 MC, the city entered into a period of relative decline. Never becoming involved in "the outside affairs of savage races," the governing council of Albion ruled against intervention during the darkest days of the Carnivore War, the Downunda Crisis, the Plight of the Forgotten Tribe of Arakkis, and the Fallout of 3050.   
  
Nonetheless, it gradually dawned on the ruling castes of Albion that contact with the outside world could not be avoided forever. Records recovered from the Third Mogulian Republic indicate knowledge of the city of Albion, as well as its general location in the realm of Mercia. The Kingdom of Acorn, under Charon the Great (MC 2456 to 2492) and Melchoir the Mighty (MC 3070 to 3132), investigated the presence of an entity known as 'Albion' without success, in their campaigns through Mercia. On several occasions, the Dukes or Kings of Mercia have also sent expeditions to find a lost city, though they generally searched inland, and not off shore. Several times, the city was almost found by overlanders. In one instance, during the Second Overlander War (MC 3188 to 3193), only a freak storm disrupted a formation of ships that would have found the hidden city, even with the City Cloak operational.  
  
Furthermore, the very limited gene pool of Albion was becoming dangerously isolated from that of the healthier off-island echidna population. When the 'Forgotten Tribe,' a group of echidna who opted not to take to the Floating Island in 2814, began their trek for a new echidna homeland, the decision was made to guide them towards Albion. That the first Mitre of the Tribe already knew of Albion (allegedly given a vision of it by the Ancient Walkers), made the task of guiding him in its general direction easier. With access to some ancient Mogulian records confiscated by the Dingo after the fall of the Third Republic, Arrakis led his people on the long journey towards Albion. Their four hundred year expedition, despite nearly being wiped out numerous times, eventually reached Albion in late 3234.   
  
In the process, the location of Albion became more and more well known. The Royal Family of the Kingdom of Acorn became aware of it by 3235, after the city was visited by several of its Freedom Fighters. The High Council of Echidnapolis knew as early as 3236, and from those parties, knowledge of the Lost City has become more and more widespread. In late 3237, a delegation from the city of Casino Night approached the city of Albion, hoping to broker some sort of trade agreement. Around that same time, the first scouting party of Felines, from nearby Cat Country, launched a daring raid against the Hidden City, capturing several echidna and looting an entire apartment complex.   
  
A militia force was hastily assembled following the incident.  
  
The island's leaders, now aware that their "Splendid Isolation" has come to an end, have adopted a position of reconciliation and reunification with the remaining Floating Island born echidna. Delegates from Echidnapolis entered the city in 3237, and likewise the Albionian Prolocutor; Gala-Na visited Echidnapolis two months later. The issue of unification is not so much one of principle, but one of political organization. The Albionian government maintains that Albion was the birthplace of the echidna race, and thus the proper seat of government, even if moving every echidna there is impractical. Just the same, the Echidnapolis High Council maintains that the majority of echidna live on the Floating Island, and have fought endlessly to live there, and that they are the legitimate governing authority for the majority of the echidna people. To date, the different views between Albion and Echidnapolis on the topic of unification have not been addressed, however the EDF (Echidna Self Defense Forces) have been given jurisdiction to patrol the areas around Albion, if not the city itself, in a gesture of support against hostile neighbors.  
  
Albion is ruled by a small group of echidna with hereditary lineage privileges called the Albion City Council. Twelve families rule the city, and each family contributes two members to the Council. Of the twenty-four members, one is elected as Prolocutor. The Prolocutor (elected annually) publicly speaks for the Council in all matters, and has three votes instead of one. The current Prolocutor is Gala-Na, of the Na Family.   
  
Advantages and Disadvantages:  
  
Albion has a high level of technology, most of it very old. The vast majority of technological advancement occurred centuries ago, and it is a sad fact that most Albionian residents have no idea how their technology works, much less how to improve on it. Complacent in their isolation, they have hardly improved in any field over the last five centuries, and have no experience in fighting or conflict.  
  
So: while Albion can, on paper, wield an impressive array of technological sophistication, almost on par with that of the Angel Island echidna, in reality they are highly limited in its use. A very small cadre of 'Technologists' run virtually the entire city, while most of Albion's population lounges around, being fed by automated farms, and producing little if anything either for themselves or for export. The inclusion of the Forgotten Tribe, however, has stretched Albion's resources greatly (more of them survived than the Council had anticipated), and no one in the city is really sure about what to do about it. For the first time, there has been a persistent reoccurrence of brownouts and food shortages.  
  
In essence, Albion is both very strong and very weak. What technology it has is formidable, but barely functional. No new building has been constructed in four centuries, and most essential skills have been lost by the population. Demographically, half the population is over fifty years old, and no longer productive even if Albion had any industrial or agricultural base to speak of.   
  
**Other Notes:**  
  
**Characters:**  
Gala-Na  
  
Others  
  
**Details on Characters:**  
  
**Military:**  
  
The Albionian military exists only on paper. In practice, it has not had an active means of self-defense in over a thousand years. In theory, every male between the ages of fifteen and forty can be drafted into a citizen militia for the defense of the city, following a Citizen Code written over two thousand years ago. However, such a thing has never been tried. The average Albionian male echidna has never held a gun, never been in a fight, and never even had to work. Many have only a minimal state education in the superiority of the echidna race, and the near holy status of their city. Just as bad: the city has no stockpiles of modern weapons (like artillery, surface to air or surface to surface missiles, or heavy weapons of any sort), beyond a handful of antiques.   
  
The Albion Militia is thus a paper tiger. The average militiaman, hastily brought up into service after the 3237 Cat Country Raid, is poorly trained, motivated, and undisciplined. Efforts at instituting a drill (ironically enough by the recent Forgotten Tribe arrivals) have, in general, resulted in failures, and attempts at manufacturing a robot security force have been disastrous. Wielding an old and poorly designed, if powerful, energy weapon the Albion militia could theoretically be a capable force when deployed in sufficient numbers, and when firing in unison. However, in the entire city, only the volunteer force of Forgotten Tribe echidna (Called the 'Arrakis Brigade,' or 'Red Coats') have the discipline or drill to make use of the Albion equipment. 


	8. Faction Brief 8 Cat Country

** Name:**  
Cat Country  
  
**Territory: **  
Most of Mobius Minor, also known as the "southwest" continent, except for the region of Mercia. The vast majority of Cat Country is jungle and mountain terrain, with some desert/shrub land in the south.   
  
**Cities:**  
None  
  
**History:**  
  
Cat Country is not a territorial entity, like the Kingdom of Acorn or Echidnapolis, or even a strictly military/political one, like the Dingo Hegemony or the Southern Separatist Movement. It is a name given to a region dominated by feline mobians. Located far from Mobius Major, and the preeminent Mobian civilizations that took root in that part of the planet, Cat Country is geographically closer (essentially adjacent) to the continent of Overland   
  
Most of the native inhabitants of Cat Coutnry's jungles and mountains have no written history, so that which exists is largely produced second hand, by scholars from Mobius Major or Overland. The territory is home to a number of semi nomadic Mobian Tribes, many but not all of which are classified as feline breeds. These 'jungle breeds' are the root ancestors of all other Mobian felines, from as far a field as Mobius Major. Periodically taken as slaves, especially by their human/overlander neighbors to the north, many of these felines were sold to Mercia or to the Kingdom of Acorn, where King Melchoir the Mighty eventually freed their descendants in 3110.   
  
Over the centuries Cat Country has been host to numerous invasions, most notably that of the dingo and the overlanders, endless sparring with rival neighbors (Mercia), and outgoing barbarian migrations and invasions. Even when a well led tribe or tribes came to prominence and attempted to forge a stable entity (The Anghor Empire, and the Theocracy of the Sorrun Yannai come to mind), these rarely endured for more than a century. The mighty Anghor Empire of Cat Country, which ruled during the early years of the Carnivore War from 2050 to 2250, and participated in that conflict between 2100 and 2200, eventually collapsed after suffering a series of humiliating defeats.   
  
While the Anghor are considered the foremost of Cat Country's short lived civilizations, having built extensive jungle cities and canals, and fielding substantial armies, perhaps their successors: the Sorrun Yannai, had a more profound impact on world history. Shortly after the collapse of the Anghor, their Elite Jaguar Warrior Clerics, the Sorrun Yannai (or the Cult of the Holy Claw), seized power. While the Sorrun saw to the decay of the Anghor legacy of canal and grand city building, they were the first Cat Country peoples to attempt to expand overseas, and small settlements of Sorrun traders grew in foreign lands, on the many islands southwest of Mobius Major, and even in the Dingo controlled land of Downunda.   
  
Many trace the fall of the Dingo Hegemony, due to a series of devastating plagues, to migrants from far off Cat Country. A punitive expedition by the dingo against the Sorrun Yannai eventually led to the destruction of that society, after years of jungle warfare, but also served to further weaken the once mighty Dingo state. In the end, the dingo and Sorrun destroyed each other – the canines eventually becoming a thrall of the resurgent echidna until the reformation of the Hegemony two hundred years later, and the felines never recovering, even up to the present.   
  
After the destruction of the Sorrun Yannai Theocracy, Cat Country degenerated into a vast array of bickering tribes and ethnicities. This period of warfare reached a peak during the Great War, when those tribes who allied with the powerful Terran Federation were encouraged (and armed) by their human masters to slaughter their traditional enemies. The balance of power upset by this newest wave of human intervention, the human-aligned tribes were easily able to destroy their age-old enemies. Terran plans, following the conquest of the Kingdom of Acorn, involved dividing Cat Country into numerous puppet kingdoms, tribute to their human benefactors.   
  
Modern day Cat Country is, as a brutal consequence, much less conflict raked than it was in the past. The major surviving Tribes have destroyed their greatest rivals, and face similarly equipped Tribes also busy consolidating their gains. Skirmishes between the major groups have proven that conflict between any two would only serve to strengthen others. Thus, a somewhat unsteady truce keeps the area from erupting into violence.   
  
This does not, however, preclude occasional raids on the part of most Tribes on their neighbors. Recently, this policy has once more been extended to the countries that border Cat Country: Mercia and Albion. Both had suffered from Cat Country raids since before the formal End of the Robotnick War and the Battle of Knothole. Even during the rule of Robotnick, the tyrant never sent sizable forces to subdue the Tribes of Cat Country, seeing their territory as not worth the effort. As a consequence, the Tribes have found themselves, for the first time in centuries, in a favorable position to dominate the continent of Mobius Minor.   
  
Advantages and Disadvantages:  
  
The various Tribes of Cat Country have a long history of fighting each other and outsiders, and a large (if sprawling) population to draw upon. Brutal and savage in battle, their danger is compounded by the fact that the surviving major tribes also wield impressive human built weapons from the Great War. While, after so many years, not all of these continue to function at full capacity, most Tribes have at least a rudimentary knowledge of how to maintain and operate them, passed on by their now deceased human overlords.   
  
However, it is worth noting that while the Tribes may know how to operate and maintain these weapons, they have no ability to manufacture any copies. With no native industry to speak of, and little history of practical scientific invention and record keeping, they have no ability to improve on or develop powerful weapons of their own, or even to train native experts in these fields. Tribal populations are almost wholly illiterate (in that most Tribes have no written languages of their own), and led by a small ruling family of dubious claim. None of the Tribes possess a particularly sound leadership, and are often prone to factional infighting.  
  
**Other Notes:**  
**  
Characters:**  
_Phyllostomid Tribe_  
Tuyet Nu My  
Quoc Quan Than  
_  
Feline Tribes_  
Assorted  
  
**Details on Characters:**  
  
Quoc is the term denoting the Tribal Leader within the Bat Tribe. Thus, Quoc Quan Than is the leader of the Bat Tribe, his name meaning 'Brilliant Soldier.' Tuyet Nu My ('Beautiful Snow White Girl') is another member of the Bat Tribe, and Rouge's mother, of the Desmodus (Vampire Bat) Breed.   
  
**Military:**  
  
The military strength of different Tribes varies. Some are larger than others, but all are relatively minor regional powers. None have any real means of power projection far beyond their borders. Existing forces do not follow standard mobian military organization (which evolved out of the dingo and human schools of thought), and is more primitive in structure. In most Tribes, warriors are mustered as needed from different villages. Fighting is typically in small groups, and usually to settle land of intra-tribal disputes. Raiding parties are generally of a similar size, but better equipped and organized, led as they are by more experienced warriors. 


	9. Religion Overview

_**Religions of Mobius**_

Humans: Church of Man  
Mobians: Source Worship, Ritual Church  
Echidna: Aurora Worship, Ancient Walker Worship  
Dingo: Quasi-Stoicism  
Wolf Packs: Nature Spiritualism  
Kitsune: Ancestor Worship & Northern Deism  
Others: Mogulian Cults

_Ritual Church_ (nonexclusive)

- oldest surviving native religious organization (2nd Mogulian Republic)  
- strong emphasis on magic, artifacts & miracles  
- branched off to form Source Worship  
- strong network of clerics to run society  
- dualism between existing good and evil, strict moral codes  
- 'Devout' redeem others by association  
- mixed revelation and mystery religion elements  
- Character Examples:

Hershey(doctrinal adherent)  
Bunnie(lay)

_Source Worship_ (non exclusive)

- related to Ritual Church (formed as state religion by Acorn Dynasty)  
- founded by Xerxes the Golden, son of Alexander (the first real King Acorn)  
- less emphasis on clerics or monasticism, more on kingly figure as a symbol or link to or with supernatural  
- less pronounced dualism; more interpretation allowed  
- mixed revelation and mystery religion elements  
- Character Examples:

King Max(true believer)  
Sally(openly heretical)  
St. John(another true believer)  
Sir Charles/Uncle Chuck(moderate/lay)

_Aurora_ Worship(exclusive: echidna) 

- worshippers seek 'ascended state' and enlightenment/purity  
- Aurora is both a Holy Figure and an aspect of non-personified supernatural forces inherent to the world  
- "Avatars" (maybe Avatara) are the chosen of Aurora (Archie canon added recently). They are Prophets who lead in times of crisis, similar to traditional Mitres in Walker Worship  
- Churches are known as Auroriums (Archie canon again)  
- "Speakers" for Aurora serve a ceremonial role as an intermediary  
- Female virginal/monastic tradition  
- (mentioned as a puppet religion set up by "Merlin Prower," who claimed to have given Aurora her 'ascended' state)  
- Character Examples:

Constable Remington(lay/critical of institution)  
Knuckles(openly critical of it – Archie canon)  
Lara-Le(true believer)  
Locke(openly opposed)  
Tikal(deceased Priestess/Shrine Maiden)

_Ancient Walker Worship_ (non exclusive) 

- Derivative of Aurora Worship – also seeks 'ascended state'  
- Claims that Aurora was Prophet or Avatar of higher powers: the "Ancient Walkers" (The Triad, The Trio, The Three, all seen as direct personas or aspects of creation, destruction, and continuation/existence)  
- Belief in many past Avatars or Prophets, of generally lesser significance, all 'semi divine'  
- Strong connections between religious and practical leadership roles (Mitres)  
- Tutelary: major and minor Avatara (like Saints) can be adopted by causes, peoples, organizations, etc…  
- Monastic but not hierarchal (only two classes: Legate and Brother, the former having authority and seniority)  
- (it can be speculated that this is also a puppet religion, since Athair claims to speak for and work for the Ancient Walkers, when it seems to be Merlin directing him in his activities)  
- Character Examples:

Athair(? – ironically enough, since he is worshipped by them as a Mitre and Avatar)  
Legate Barak(true believer & fundamentalist)  
Sabre(openly opposed – Archie canon, IIRC)  
Nail(former true believer)  
Yanar(true believer)

_Dingoism_ (generally exclusive) 

- mix of Stoic and Confucian philosophy  
- no god or gods; stresses behaviors of individuals and group dynamics  
- emphasis on morals, but not strong emotions, and submission to institutions  
- one's highest duty is to the public  
- nationalistic and jingoistic  
- survival through racial memory, family and great deeds/good works  
- Character Examples:

General Viktor von Stryker  
Sergeant Heinrich von Elbe  
(pretty much all dingo are well indoctrinated into this…)

_Wolf Packs _ (generally exclusive)

- evolved from early Mogulian teachings, most notably the worship of Rhadamanthus (God of Smiths, Lord of Works, and the First Bright King), who was the patron of observance, duty, and natural cycles. While Rhadamanthus is no longer mentioned in name in any of the ceremonies, they bear distinct anthropological similarities to those documented in the Early Mogulian Era.  
- spirits exist in all things, and can be communed with  
- many fables, and a strong oral tradition  
- strong emphasis on Pack loyalty and extended family bonds

_The Church of Man_ (exclusive: humans and overlanders)

- created by (five fingered) "Relic-men," all other human faiths were exterminated in the nearly thousand year long Wars of Religion- Church of Man teaching stresses mankind's special and divine nature, and that humans alone are created in the image of the Great Maker  
- human beings have dominion over the Terra (as they call Mobius), and an obligation to subjugate it  
- Weak dualism: the Great Maker is neither all good nor all evil, he is all powerful and above mortal morality  
- No saints, martyrs or lesser deities  
- Human spirits are extensions of the Great Maker himself, and all are equal in this respect (though those with five fingers have 'divine favor')  
- Existence is a test of souls and faith  
- It not (or was not) interpreted literally in the modern human era (with the rise in xenophobia after the evacuation of Station Square, this may change)

_Mogulian Faiths_ (Cults)(varied) 

- this was the second derivative of the original religion created by Mammoth Mogul, when he established the first mobian civilization, in the previous (Third) Age. At the time, after founding the First City of Enoch, he began to delegate responsibilities to his Acolytes, who came to be known as the "Bright Kings of Enoch" (while he lost himself in revelry and debauchery). After several centuries, there came to be seven (in order of seniority): Rhadamanthus, Ignatius, Ysbaddaden, Elishiva/Sekhmet, Saffire, Mulciber, and The Devourer. All were given a Chaos Emerald to provide them with long life and great power (at the time there were only two sets of Emeralds in all the world).  
- After the "Days of Fury" (horray for Archie adaptations), in which the Bright Kings polarized between two camps, Mogul emerged triumphant due to the intervention of Merlin (who had existed a full Age before anyone else involved, as the creator of the second set of Emeralds). However, because of the catastrophe brought to the world, and the beginning of a Fourth Age, Merlin sealed away many of the Emeralds, both old and new (as all the Bright Kings were dead by this point anyway), giving one to Mogul as part of their bargain. The original Mogulian religion was suppressed (ironically, first by Mogul himself, and then by those who followed him after his self imposed Exile)  
- What managed to survive to the present largely takes the form of small mystery cults (like the only recently deceased Order of Ixus)  
- In Cat Country, and other more primitive and secluded parts of Mobius, many of the old ways and the 'old gods' survive in a purer form (the Panther Tribe worshipped Ysbadadden directly, and at least one tribe in the Ginger Islands still worshipped Mogul himself)  
- It is no longer mainstream…


	10. The Mogulian Pantheon

_**Religions of Mobius**_

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**_The Mogulian Pantheon  
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Those 'Bright Kings of Enoch' who have been mentioned so far in COA or NWO (generally in regards to some Chaos Corrupted individual taking or being given their name) are:  
(these are also up in the COA Encyclopedia)

_Ysbadadden_

In the ancient lore of the Panther Tribe, Ysbadadden was their Patron God, who ventured to far off lands in search of knowledge and glory. He is associated with early Mogulian lore (now believed to have been more real than anyone suspected) as one of the "Bright Kings" (The Third) who followed "The Mogul" and helped build the First City at Enoch. He became known as the Lord of Eyes for developing a third eye during his searching and mapping of the heavens. Ysbadadden, in Mogulian Lore, is the great astronomer and the Watcher of the Sky. He was also known for his terrible temper, his penchant for remembering past insults, and his desire for solitude. Divination was typically done using bones and the movement of stars. Worship of Ysbadadden, in numerous forms, spread throughout Cat Country and continues up to the present.

_Mulciber_

In ancient Mogulian Lore, Mulciber is known as the Trickster God, and the Patron of Rogues. Supposedly, he began as a simple charlatan who got by pretending to be a nobleman. Eventually, emboldened by every success, he grew more and more ambitious in his pranks. Finally, be tried impersonating a god, and after a time became one. He is known as "The Sixth" of the "Bright Kings" of the First City. Mulciber became known further as the Lord of Masks, because of his ability to impersonate anyone, and to spy on nearly any event. He is also associated with hurtful magics, lechery and perversion, but also perseverance and skill at games of chance. Mulciber was never widely worshipped.

_The Devourer_

There is no mention of the name Reptilian in ancient Mogulian Lore. There is mention, however, of The Devourer, the Seventh Bright King of Enoch. This is stylistically and linguistically a very different sort of name than all the other legendary "Bright Kings," and it had led some to speculate that the name Devourer was not the original, but a later invention created centuries later. Others have speculated that there were two Seventh Bright King(s). Or that they were aspects of one another, like night and day.

The Devourer is a Dark God, the God of Dragons, and the Lord of Flight and of Jade. He is also a god of betrayal, destruction, and disorder. Some texts go so far as to reinvent the name as The Disorderer, The Chaos Bringer, or The Mad Slavemaster. As befits a violent, destructive and powerful god, worship of The Devourer involves particularly brutal living sacrifices, debauched feasting (occasionally involving part or all of the sacrifice itself), and chanting to the point of exhaustion. Worship of The Devourer and all associated Blood Cults were supposedly wiped out in the fiftieth year of the First Mogulian Republic, several thousand years ago.

Recently, however, the old arcane markings have returned, in the dark and hidden recesses of the world, and in a secluded temple high in hidden mountains, the sound of tortured chanting ca be heard long into the night…

_Elishiva/Sekhmet_

In ancient Mogulian Lore, Elishiva is the two-headed goddess, whose compassionate and cruel sides alternated for control of her psyche (some have speculated that The Devourer is similarly given two personas in his interpretation, and yet others have speculated that The Devourer was originally Elishiva's protégé or son). She is generally depicted as a beatific female, with cloth wrapped around her eyes blinding her. In one arm she carries a doll, and in the other a sword.

As Elishiva, the Fourth Bright King (even though she is female), she is the God of Executioners and the Lord of Judgment, who condemns the guilty and the wrongdoers to punishment. Some translations also place her as the God of Judges, as a tertiary title. In this aspect, she was prayed to for swift and merciful punishments, and to grant the condemned a quick death. The doll is said to represent the other side of her persona: Sekhmet, sleeping when the doll's eyes are closed (or if the doll has no eyes).

Unlike Elishiva, Sekhmet was the cruel and vicious aspects of punishment. She was prayed to by murders and killers (as well as torturers) as the Maiden of Agony (or sometimes as a third specific god called Agony). She was the patron god of Slaughter in all its forms, and commonly called the Crimson Lady. A notable series of death cults can be attributed to the Crimson Lady, and her worship continues in parts of secluded Cat Country (for example: among the Bat Tribe). As Elishiva, she is associated most strongly with justice, but also tyranny. As Sekhmet, she is associated with cruelty, but also freedom. This is the dichotomy of the "Fourth Bright King of Enoch."

_Rhadamanthus_

Known as The Stalwart, and the World Smith. Rhadamanthus, God of Smiths, Lord of Works was the First Bright King of Enoch. He was the First that The Mogul took into His City, and he remained the Strongest and the First of the Seven when his peers joined him in that place. As the eldest, Rhadamanthus is seen as the most responsible of the Seven. He was the one given the hardest tasks, and the one whose loyalty to Mogul never faded. At the same time, he is seen as a god lacking in leadership, and one that never made decisions for himself. It is said that the only time he did something he was not told to do was when he sacrificed himself to save his master near the end of the God Wars (or Days of Fury, in Source-lore).

Rhadamanthus is seen as the patron god of canines, as well as workers: farmers, blacksmiths, and the like all prayed to him. For a time, he was also associated with craftsmanship, and artistic ability, before that aspect of creation became more closely associated with The Devourer. Supposedly, Rhadamanthus' primary duties were the creation and perpetuation of the seasons and the weather, and the movement of the world. Rhadamanthus was not mercurial by nature, and was slow to anger, but when he was enraged his fury was terrible to behold, taking the form of earthquakes, hurricanes, tornadoes and other phenomenon. Rhadamanthus is generally seen as the most benevolent of the Bright Kings. He is also negatively associated with poverty (or positively associated with thrift), and his temples were generally simple, Spartan affairs.

Rhadamanthus' religious legacy continues among Mobian canines. The Wolf Pack belief systems are closely based on his philosophy, and even Dingoism, though more distantly, has roots in him. Vulpines in the northern territories within or close to Kitsune Lands also actively worshipped Rhadamanthus until the near present, as the kitsune did not make any attempt to suppress Mogulian faiths within their borders.


End file.
